Unlocking the potential of investing in people, purpose and PPE.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provider Eagle Protect was founded in Ōtautahi Christchurch in 2006 with a vision ‘to safeguard what matters with integrity’. With some early-stage investment and support from Seed the Change | He Kākano Hāpai, Eagle Protect has grown to supply about 80% of Aotearoa’s primary food processing industry with responsibly sourced disposable gloves and protective clothing.
“Our Founder, Steve Ardagh, started the business because he wanted to do PPE differently,” says Eagle Protect Workplace and Sustainability Manager, Kath Row. “Yes, we provide people with the protection that they need,” she says, “ but we are so much more than a supplier of disposable gloves. We feel a responsibility to conduct our business in a way that benefits all who come in contact with us. We are promoting safer production and better supply chains while supporting increased well-being for public health, communities and the environment.”
Seed the Change | He Kākano Hāpai was inspired by Steve’s vision and, as part of a wider philanthropic portfolio of values-aligned initiatives, proudly provided early-stage incubation and investment support for Eagle Protect. “Seed the Change has been an important early investor in Eagle, connecting with our values of being people-focused, and making social and environmental impact beyond business as usual,” says Eagle Protect CFO, Gareth Brooks.
Kath agrees that the relationship was a great fit at a perfect time when Eagle Protect was looking to expand internationally. “Seed the Change made contact with us when we were growing our business into the US. They recognised what we were trying to achieve and their early-stage commitment added credibility to our investment round which, in turn, attracted other prominent investors. We were always impressed with their insightful questions about our approach, and also the wisdom and wealth of experience they were able to provide around any specific challenges we faced.”
“They also provided invaluable guidance on forming an effective Board of Directors as the company went through the initial growth phase,” Gareth adds. “Eagle has appreciated the insight from Seed the Change in this area, particularly from Chair, Anake Goodall, and his broad experience across a range of sectors, scales and organisational types.”
The future of PPE is transformative and innovative, Kath says, with a focus on limiting the environmental challenges presented by single-use products. “We want to reduce unnecessary waste and close the loop on our products’ lifecycle through responsible production and consumption by using quality materials that leave a lighter footprint.” To support this vision, Eagle Protect became Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Certified B Corporation in 2012 in recognition of their work to meet strict social and environmental impact, accountability and transparency standards. “We are currently undertaking our fifth B Corp recertification, which is always rigorous; it is a hugely important component of our ongoing journey of continuous improvement.”
Now an established international company, Eagle Protect is focused on amplifying its impact both at home in Aotearoa and overseas. “From a product perspective, the work that we do around quality control and raising testing standards ripples out through both the food supply chain and the health system. That is one way that we are keeping communities safe. Alongside those efforts, we are supporting local impact initiatives through direct sponsorship and product donations.”
Some of the charitable causes and events that Eagle Protect has supported in Aotearoa include Christchurch City Mission, TedX and the Social Enterprise World Forum, with similar impact initiatives now in place in the US. “Our goal is to be a global leader in safety while also being a leader in supporting communities. We look for values alignment, always, but we also understand that inclusion and belonging can start really small, and we are committed to providing opportunities to foster that.”
In particular, Eagle Protect is giving back to Ōtautahi through a recent Seed the Change initiative called Share Kai which is creating spaces of belonging to connect to the diversity of communities through food. “Being involved with Share Kai has been a full-circle opportunity for us. We were supported by Seed the Change in our early-stage growth; now we are able to support one of their other early-stage projects with in-kind product support.”
Share Kai is a collaboration between InCommon, Mahia te Aroha and the Share Kai Cooks Collective that was created in response to the Christchurch mosque attacks in March 2019. Through shared food and experiences, they are actively working to foster cross-community compassion and celebrate cultural difference. In doing so, a collective of cooks from former refugee and migrant backgrounds share unique dishes that are traditional to their homelands.
“When Seed the Change approached us about Share Kai, our team could immediately see that this was an incredible initiative to get behind. We have made an initial donation of several cartons of disposable gloves, hats and aprons, and we look forward to maintaining that relationship with further product donations in 2024. The work that Share Kai is doing is so powerful, with wide-reaching impacts around belonging, inclusion, mental health and well-being in Ōtautahi. They’re also amazing cooks, so it’s a perfect fit for us from both a community outreach perspective and a food safety perspective.”
Share Kai is helping to ground Eagle Protect in its commitment to positive local impact, Kath says. “Having that as an anchor project to focus on in Ōtautahi helps to inform and guide our responses to social and community impact through a lens of inclusion. We are excited to help this initiative support long-term well-being for the diverse communities of Christchurch, and we are proud to partner with Seed the Change on such important and impactful work. Share Kai provides great food and conversations, and we are looking forward to supporting them with lots of amazing events.”
Anake says, “Eagle Protect is a deeply values-driven organisation, with an unapologetic ambition to make a positive impact, already making significant contributions to public health and environmental impact on the world stage. Further, it is financially successful while also actively supporting the communities in which its business is embedded. Eagle is proof positive that Aotearoa New Zealand can model what will - indeed, must - be the face of global business in the future, and they are a perfect fit for our 100% mission-aligned investment portfolio. It is a real privilege for Seed the Change to work side by side with Eagle Protect as we both lean into this compelling vision of what is possible.”
As Eagle Protect looks ahead, the business is growing steadily in the US and their team is working hard to advocate for constant regulatory improvements in the PPE industry. “We have created full supply chain transparency, including the expansion of our proprietary glove testing programme, and we will continue to push for innovative change across the industry as a whole, including our continued focus on ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility.”
The reciprocal benefits - both financial and in-kind - of the relationship between Eagle Protect and Seed the Change highlight the power of business and not-for-profit partnerships. Both organisations encourage those in Ōtautahi to get involved with Share Kai and attend an upcoming event where the food, the food safety and the community connection are all guaranteed to exceed expectations.
To connect with Seed the Change | He Kākano Hāpai, visit https://www.seedthechange.nz/ and to learn more about Eagle Protect visit https://eagleprotect.co.nz/.